DE 10 2011 086 161 A1 discloses a camshaft with a basic shaft, and with a sliding element received on the basic shaft in such a way as to be axially displaceable along the shaft axis of the camshaft. The basic shaft comprises an outer longitudinal tooth structure with a multiplicity of external teeth, and the external teeth engage in a mating tooth geometry formed in a passage in the sliding element. In this way, the sliding element is axially displaceable on the basic shaft in the direction of the shaft axis, and yet the sliding element cannot be rotated on the basic shaft, such that torques can be transmitted from the basic shaft to the sliding element.
When sliding elements are received on a basic shaft provided with external teeth, the fundamental problem arises of guiding the sliding element as far as possible without play. In order to ensure that lift information is picked off continuously in a manner free of disturbances from a cam track of the sliding element to a pick-off element, the sliding element must be guided on the basic shaft as far as possible without radial play. Guiding the sliding element with minimal play on the basic shaft minimizes the axial offset of the sliding element on the basic shaft, and it is desirable for the axial offset to be as small as possible.
To ensure that a guiding of the sliding element on the basic shaft is decoupled from the meshing of the external teeth of the basic shaft with the inner tooth structure in the sliding element for forming the mating tooth geometry, DE 10 2011 086 161 A1 proposes the provision of bearing collars on the sliding element, through which the sliding element is guided on the basic shaft so as to minimize the axial offset. The bearing collars on the sliding element in this case run against the tooth tips of the external teeth of the basic shaft, as a result of which, however, early wear of the bearing collars may be caused. If bearing points with a cylindrical shape were to be provided on the basic shaft, the sliding element could no longer be mounted with the mating tooth geometry, since the mating tooth geometry in the passage of the sliding element has a smallest diameter that would be smaller than the cylinder portion for guiding the sliding element which is formed on the basic shaft.